Snowshoe Hares’ Fur-covered Toes
Snowshoe Hare tracks are readily discernible because of the paired larger hind feet which land in front of the smaller front feet when a hare bounds over the snow. When bounding, a hare’s front feet usually land side by side, unless they are traveling at great speed, when one front foot tends to land in front of the other (see photo).
Because they have hairy feet and no exposed toe pads, Snowshoe Hares usually do not leave distinct toe impressions in their tracks. When they do, you will see four impressions, even though they have five toes on each foot. In soft snow, the four long toes of each foot are spread widely, increasing the size of these “snowshoes” still more. The fine, sharp claws on their feet may or may not register.
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Admirable Qualities of the Canada Jay
Most of New England never sees Canada Jays (formerly called Gray Jays), but in the northern reaches of the Northeast this bird is familiar to most boreal woods walkers. It’s not hard to find something to admire about the cleverness of Canada Jays. Admirable traits include their habit of using their sticky saliva to glue bits of food behind bark or in other vegetation during the summer (as well as the ability to be able to find it again when hungry in the winter), their use of forest tent caterpillar cocoons to hold their nest of twigs together, and their ability to incubate eggs in -20°F during their late winter nesting season.
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Photo Op Alerts
Over the years I have discovered and photographed most of my blog post subjects, but every once in a while someone lets me know about something out of the ordinary that they think I might be interested in photographing. (Scattered flying squirrel tails, black bear dens, red fox litters and nesting birds come to mind.) I am immediately on the road if it is something that I think might make a great post (and might possibly still be there by the time I arrive). Distance and subject matter are heavily weighed before causing my car to contribute even more to greenhouse gas emissions…however, anyone who would drive 2 ½ hours to photograph a Monkey Slug has obviously contributed to climate change.
When I have had the opportunity to photograph something because of someone’s generosity in sharing the subject and location with me, you will see “Thanks to ___ for photo op (opportunity)” at the end of the post. I am eternally grateful to anyone who thinks of me and takes the time to let me know about something noteworthy. It doesn’t have to be something as earth-shattering as mt. lion tracks, for instance – kill sites, animal beds and caches, otter slides – anything that isn’t too commonplace and tells a story will have me at your doorstep. To contact me please call 802-279-2330 and leave a message if I don’t answer. I am located in Hartland, VT (just south of White River Junction) and unless it actually is a mt. lion track sighting or something equally rare or that I’ve never seen, I probably won’t be tempted to drive more than a couple of hours. Thank you so much! (Photo: White-tailed Deer cached by and then dug up and eaten by a Bobcat. Thanks to Otto Wurzburg for photo op.)
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Moose Beds
In winter, Moose prefer to use powder snow areas in mixed forests, under large conifers, as bedding sites. They can rest while standing or when bedding on the ground. When standing, a moose’s head and neck are relaxed but its ears are constantly moving in order to detect sound coming from any direction. When bedded on the ground, a moose’s legs can be tucked under its body or extended (when laying on their side).
A favored resting and sleeping position of antlered bulls is on one side of their body, with legs stretched and one antler touching the ground. Moose have the ability to nearly disappear if they bed down in snow. A bedded moose does not move and looks very much like a stump or rock. When they rise, they often leave shed hairs and scat in the depression they’ve made in the snow.
A large bed with one or two smaller ones indicates a cow and her calves have bedded down together. (Thanks to Kit Emery for photo op.)
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Black Bears Scent Marking In Winter
Congratulations to Rinky for being the first person to correctly identify that a Black Bear had been rubbing its back side against a utility pole in Monday’s Mystery Photo! A vast majority of responses were correct! Because of the relatively warm fall we’ve had and the ample food supply, Black Bears are still active in much of northern New England. There is a limited amount of time when bears are awake and snow is on the ground, allowing you to see what they’ve been up to. This year they are still feeding fast and furiously and, as the tracks in the snow confirm, scent marking.
Black Bears of all ages and both sexes engage in scent marking – rubbing their scent on trees and telephone poles (as well as biting and scratching them) that are often located along travel corridors. Scent marking typically occurs during the breeding season in June, when males, especially, announce their presence by standing with their back to a tree or pole (often one that leans) and rub their shoulders, neck and back against it, leaving their scent.
The tracks in Monday’s Mystery Photo were discovered recently at the base of a utility pole in New Hampshire. One look at the tracks’ position, pointing away from the pole, tells you that the bear that made them was facing away from the pole and rubbing his back side against it – proof that scent marking is not limited to the breeding season. (Photo: Black Bear scent marking the same pole in mating season, taken by Alfred Balch)
(If you are feeding birds, it would be wise to bring your feeders in at night until we’ve had enough cold weather to drive Black Bears into hibernation.)
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Mystery Photo
Do you think you know who was here and what he/she was doing??? If so, go to the Naturally Curious website, scroll down to and click on “Comments” and enter your answer. Wednesday’s post will reveal what transpired here.
(Photo by tracker/naturalist/wildlife videographer Alfred Balch.)
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Coyote Breeding Season Beginning
Female Eastern Coyotes only experience estrus once per year for up to ten days and male coyotes only produce sperm during the time females are receptive. This usually occurs sometime between late December through March.
One unusual aspect of the coyote breeding season is the coyote’s ability to change its breeding habits according to its population status. When their population is threatened and/or pressured, coyote litter sizes go up. They use their howls and yipping to assess coyote populations — if their howls are not answered by other packs, it triggers a response that produces large litters. (I have yet to understand the biological specifics of this adaptation.)
The normal size of a coyote litter is five to six pups. When their populations are suppressed, their litters get up as high as 12 to 16 pups. Research shows that the number of coyotes in a given area can be reduced by 70 percent but the next summer their population will be back to the original number.
(Photo: blood droplets where a female coyote in estrus urinated. Photo taken 12/4/19)
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A Hungry Bear & A Larder-less Chipmunk
Many readers had partially correct answers to Monday’s Mystery Photo, but congratulations go to “adaniel”, the first person to correctly identify the visitor (Black Bear) as well as the object of the visitor’s desire (Eastern Chipmunk’s winter food supply).
Between the relatively warm fall we’ve been having and the plethora of acorns and beechnuts this year, some, if not all, Black Bears have yet to enter hibernation. They are still actively consuming as much as possible to insure their winter survival. A bear’s sense of smell is extremely good – it is estimated that it is about seven times greater than a bloodhound’s. This particular bear located (with its nose) an underground storage chamber off the underground tunnel system (see red circle) of an Eastern Chipmunk.
Up to half a bushel of nuts and seeds are stored 1 1/2 to 3 feet underground in the fall by chipmunks and then consumed throughout the winter during their roughly bi-weekly arousal from sleep. The bear smelled this cache of acorns and proceeded to dig into it. Unfortunately for the bear, it was disturbed before it had a chance to consume the nutritious meal it had unearthed.
Many guessed correctly that a bear had dug up a cache of acorns, but attributed the storage of acorns to squirrels. While squirrels do cache food for winter retrieval and consumption, their technique differs from that of chipmunks. Eastern Gray Squirrels engage in what is called “scatter hoarding,” burying nuts individually, about an inch below the surface of the ground. Red Squirrels, on the other hand, store their winter food supply (typically cones of hemlock, fir, spruce, and pine trees) in a single stash or pile referred to as a midden, usually located above ground.
Thanks to Ashley Wolff who discovered and photographed the scene of the attempted ursine robbery. (Photo Inset: Black Bear grasping and eating an acorn by M.Holland.) Illustration by Meg Sodano – https://msodanoillustration.com. Thanks to Forrest Hammond, VT Fish & Wildlife Bear Biologist, for sharing his expertise.
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Mystery Photo
Can you tell who has been here and what they were doing? If so, share your explanation on the Naturally Curious website by scrolling down to “Comments.” (Hint: those are acorns scattered on the dirt.) Answer will be revealed on Wednesday, December 4. (Photo by Ashley Wolff)
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